Mama DIY: Dressing Up A Dollhouse

Here’s how to transform a simple dollhouse into a doll home that kiddos adore!

Recently I purchased a wooden dollhouse for my young daughter. It was bare, but that’s the fun part! Paint brushes at the ready, mama! I decided to doll up the dollhouse a little.

Besides a simple coat of paint, adding patterns or textures on some walls will brighten the dollhouse up and make it more fun to play with small furniture and cute dolls. I love natural wood and soft colours inspired by the Scandinavian style. To achieve that, I brought together interior design elements such as white walls and white floral fabric for the top level, while retaining the wooden floors. I also added some design interest that I really love – albeit in mini versions – like bunting on the wall and succulent plants to add greenery in the dollhouse.

First I painted the dollhouse using all-natural and environmentally friendly Frenchic paints. No VOC, no solvents and no odour! Certified EN:71-3, it is completely child-safe, making it perfect for use in nurseries and on toys, mama! I chose neutral colours as the base for the dollhouse: ‘grey pebble’ for the roof and ‘wedding cake’ white for the walls. Follow these simple steps:

Step 1: To prep, wipe the surface using a clean rag and stick masking tapes along the border to keep paint off for a flawless finish.

Step 2: Follow the lines and grains of the wood as you paint. After the first coat, let the paint dry completely for an hour or so.

Step 3: Then paint a second coat for an even coverage. Let the dollhouse dry overnight.

Step 4: The next day, apply finishing coat with a white rag on the painted areas.

Once the painting is done, I focused on perking up the walls of the dollhouse. I added patterns and colours to the wall by sticking fabric onto a cutout polypropylene (PP) sheet. This method gives the flexibility to change design or theme just by replacing it with a new fabric.

Use a piece of fabric sticker (a type of fabric with adhesive overleaf) to stick on a PP sheet after measuring the size against the wall. Give an allowance of 1.5cm for you to fold the fabric over. Another option is to use normal fabric and tape it using double-sided tape at the edges of the PP sheet.

Making bunting – Cut triangle and glue the top part of the flag to the twine. Use transparent cellophane tape to stick the bunting on the wall.

Have fun transforming a dollhouse into a doll home mama! The real satisfaction comes when you see your child grinning from ear to ear playing with the dolled-up dollhouse!

Angelyn comes from the land of headhunters in Borneo. She settled down in Singapore after marrying her prince charming who doesn't ride on white horses, but flies planes. Former journalist and accidental fashion designer, now she shares her love for travel and food in her new travel blog Venture Out For An Adventure.